Hello, everyone! Welcome to the sixteenth chapter!
Sorry for the EXTREMELY late update. I know, I'm a horrible author. I'm such a disappointing author who doesn't even have good mechanics. I'm SO SORRY.
Disclaimer: Mashima Hiro to belong Tail Fairy. You probably know the meaning, since I typed that so many times.
"Bob! Bob Marley!" Lucy shouted, Natsu next to her. "Where are you going?" They were running down the marble steps as she tried to keep up with Gray's pace. The three were currently flying down the stairs of the Scarlet manor. After much trouble to receive permission to enter the Scarlet manor, Gray suddenly wanted to exit without explaining the reason. They haven't even seen Erza yet!
Well, at least she and Natsu didn't. Earlier, Gray beated the two of them to Erza's door. Lucy scrunched her face in confusion. Was it because of something Gray saw inside Erza's room? Aw, I should've checked too. . .if only that stupid icehead didn't decide to run, Lucy mentally complained.
When she reached the first floor and Gray was heading towards another corridor. Just before he could touch the doorknob, a hand stopped him. Natsu had surpassed him.
"Get out of my way, Natsu," the dark haired boy ordered in a dangerous tone. "I'm not in the mood for your stupid tricks."
The pink haired boy rolled his eyes, disregarding Gray's anger. "We were only here for ten minutes. Did you know how much effort I, Natsu Dragneel, put in so we could come inside? This is the Scarlet manor. If you act too suspicious, they're going to ban you from here, Gra-. . .I mean Bob," he replied in an undertone. He fished out his wallet. "I had to bribe the workers so we were allowed inside. I lost 80,000 Jewels ($800)! I'm not rich!"
Lucy finally caught up with the two and turned to the dark haired boy. "What's up with you lately? You know why I dragged you along, right? I still have an entire list of questions for you, and I plan to get them answered!" Gray lazily nodded in response. "And why do want to leave all of a sudden?" the blonde continued. "We finally got inside. I didn't even see Erza! Only you did. What's your deal?!"
"That's none of your business." Gray knew he was lying. He was scarred by what he've seen.
"Erza Scarlet is my business. She's like a sister to me! You're no different! It's been twelve years. I literally grew up right beside you." the blonde reasoned.
Gray deeply sighed. "Did you ever care to wonder who the person inside Erza's room may be?"
Lucy's forehead scrunched up from confusion as she recounted the earlier event.
"Um, Natsu-san. Unfortunately, Erza-sama is currently busy." That was what the voice answered on the other side of the line. Natsu, Gray, and Lucy were standing outside of the Scarlet manor gates. It was one of those doorbells with a camera and speaker, so the three had to be in the camera's range to be allowed inside. Besides, the manor had to know exactly who the guest was. In other words, the three were squished together.
"Excuse me?" Natsu raised an eyebrow. Lucy knew what he was thinking. Erza was usually idle, especially since it's Friday. Even if she was, she would call them, warning the three not to crash by her house.
Gray pushed closer to Natsu. He sent a cold gaze through the camera. "What is Erza doing?"
"She already has a visitor at the moment. Please reschedule for another visit." the voice replied.
The dark haired boy looked crestfallen. As Lucy watched, she knew Gray was hurt somehow. But wasn't he interested in Juvia? But he's also interested in Erza. . .Argh! Which one is it?! Lucy mentally debated. Honestly, she didn't know what was up with Gray's 4D personality lately.
Natsu broke the silence. "So, are you going to let us in?" He had his puppy eyes to try to receive sympathy.
But it failed. "Natsu-san, we cannot let you inside. We were instructed by Sir and Mistress Scarlet that that is forbidden, since Erza-sama is occupied," the voice answered, with a hint of annoyance.
"Aw, but we finally came to the Scarlet manor. Did you know how far I had to walk from the subway station?!"
"Natsu-san, I hope you understand that I'm not moved. Please leave."
"Listen, I'll do ANYTHING to receive permission to enter. ANYTHING."
"Sorry, no."
The pink haired boy fetched his wallet from his pocket. "How about this. . .I'll give you 20,000 Jewels ($200). I promise there won't be a single peep about this," he suggested mischievously. He fished out several bills and waved it in front of the camera. "Look at this beauty."
The other line went silent.
"Well?" Natsu repeated.
"Make it 80,000 ($800)." The person replied.
Natsu's eyes rounded. His attempted 'cute, puppy' side wore off. "What?! Are you f*cking kidding me? Lord, I don't even have that much money in cash! No way in hell am I giving you. . ."
"Take it or leave it," the voice interrupted.
"No, you don't understand! How about. . ."
"Have a good day, Natsu-san." There was a beep on the other line, meaning the person had hung up.
"Wow, that was ruuuuude," the blonde side commented. "But on another note, it was fun to watch."
Natsu shot a glare. "You try having 80,000 Jewels forced out of you. Why can't Gray pay?" He hopefully turned to the dark haired boy.
But of course, he shook his head. "I never asked to be here," the dark haired boy answered with a smirk. He had to be honest, it was nice to tease Natsu every once in a while.
Natsu pressed the doorbell once again as he exasperatedly sighed.
"Yes, Natsu-san?" the voice from the speaker said.
By now, hearing that annoying voice made the pink hair boy want to cut the person's neck. "Fine, I'll give you the 80,000 Jewels ($800). As promised, I won't tell anyone that I bribed my way in, 'kay?"
He could imagine the person smirk with stupid happiness. "Now THAT'S what I like to hear."
"Just shut up," the pink haired boy shot back. "Do you accept credit cards? Or else we're sticking with the 20,000 Jewels ($200)."
"Who do you THINK we are?! Of course we accept credit cards! I'll be downstairs by the main entrance in a minute. But if this is some sort of joke you're playing, Natsu-san, I'll immediately call the police, understand?" And with that, the beep, signaling the end of the call, sounded.
Now that Lucy thought about it, the anonymous person in Erza's room was still a mystery. But then again, does she really have to go through the trouble of worrying? "Um. . .why would I? She's the Scarlet heir. She's tightly protected by the her bodyguards," the blonde finally replied.
"What if the person can easily slip past the security?"
"Then that's because he or she's trusted to be around Eru," Natsu piped in. He reached out to pat Gray's back. "C'mon. You don't have to worry about Eru 24/7. If you're really that anxious, why don't we ALL go to her room now? I still paid 80,000 Jewels."
Gray desperately wanted to agree to Natsu. He wanted to intrude and catch someone red-handed with the Scarlet heir. No, I still have an act to put on, Gray thought. Jellal Fernandes, don't think that I'm doing this for you. I'm doing this for Erza, since she cares about everyone TOO much. "Er, no. If Erza has a guest, let's just wait till the person leaves," the dark haired boy finally answered. He scanned the vicinity and spotted some couches by the marble staircases. "Let's have a seat there," he suggested, and started heading there.
As Natsu followed, Lucy was stumped. "Hey Bob!" she shouted. Gray turned around at the call of his code name, Natsu also stopping as a result. "I thought you wanted to leave a second ago."
"I'm being nice to Natsu. He did pay a lot." Truth be told, he just wanted to get the chance of seeing Erza's face one more time before the weekend arrives.
Lucy rolled her eyes. "Yeah, right. Since when were you and Natsu so agreeable?!"
Gray expected the response. It was a sick feeling to know that the people held closest to your heart doubted you. But if it was to be able to stay by everyone's side, even if it was for one more day, he would gladly sacrifice. He knew he was his father's puppet. But if it was to see Erza's lovely and heart-racing smile everyday, he could care less about the awaiting punishments.
"Well, someone is deep in thought," a voice pointed out. Gray stopped his reverie and craned his neck to see a smirking Natsu. The pink haired boy turned to Lucy, and gave her a nod. "Let's start," he continued.
Lucy sighed. "Bob, I really don't want to do this. You are an amazing person, and I don't want to single you out. But I'm not an idiot. All I want are truthful responses, even if it's a small part of the whole picture. Just remember that with your friends, you can trust us with anything. We're family. We've grown up together since we were five."
"Yeah, I know," the boy answered. "What do you want to know?" he asked, breaking the awkward silence.
Natsu scanned the area. Besides his friends, all he spotted were two guards in the far end of the hall. Since the guards were out of earshot, he would be able to normally talk without worrying. "Honestly, after Magic Day, I don't know what happened to you. You rejected Eru and left her when she was crying. This isn't the Gray I know! The one I know wholeheartedly cares about his peers."
Lucy nodded along to Natsu's words. "We made a promise, remember?" She held out her pinky finger. "You and Eru. . .would wait for each other no matter what. But lately, you've been acting strange with Eru. But what happened to you?"
"That's right. I do love her and that's why I want to protect her."
It was Lucy's turn to question. "But you're keeping your distance away from her. . ."
"Because that's the only option," Gray replied.
Natsu, sitting across from the dark haired boy, snickered. "I don't know what you're planning, but you better fasten your pace or else Jellal Fernandes will beat you to the finish line."
And that was when Lucy knew he crossed the line. Lucy stared at her boyfriend with disbelief. Even if she did kick him again, that couldn't reverse Natsu's words. Her brown eyes nervously switched to Gray. As expected, the dark haired boy was staring daggers.
Suddenly, the blonde realized the intense atmosphere. She was anxious for the boys' next move. "Um. . .Gray," she unsteadily whispered.
"Natsu Dragneel, this is going to be the first and last time I warn you." Gray declared in a dangerous tone. "Don't you ever compare me to that. . ." Gray stopped there.
"Well, I intended it to be a joke. It's not my fault that you didn't think it was funny," Natsu fired back.
Lucy's gaze shifted from one boy to the other. "Hey. . .I think we should stop before. . ."
"Unbelievable," Gray interrupted. "Natsu, who do you think you are?"
Gray wanted to speak up. He clearly remembered the scene in Erza's room. He couldn't be dreaming, right? Jellal was clearly violating Erza's personal space. No, he couldn't. He couldn't reveal the story to his friends. Maybe his eyes were playing tricks on him after all. Still, he couldn't forgive Natsu.
Just as Gray's eyes returned to Natsu, the pink haired boy abruptly got up. "I'm leaving. This is stupid." He picked up his books.
Gray would've continued scolding Natsu, but he didn't want to see Natsu's face again. If he did, he would have to resist the urge to punch it. Instead, the dark hair boy shot up the stairs. Now that he thought about it, he didn't know why he decided to go upstairs. Maybe he just wanted to stay away from Natsu, since he was frustrated by the boy.
Gray stopped at the second floor to catch his breath. He peered down through the stair railings. He instantly spotted Lucy, who looked like she might explode from anxiety and destroy the lounging couch.
Suddenly, Lucy jolted from her seat, startling Gray. "Natsu!" she called, but of course, the boy didn't listen. He was too busy whizzing off to the exit. "Natsu!"
"You know, he's not returning," Gray pointed out.
The blonde's head lifted upwards to spot the dark haired boy, who was leaning against the marble railing. "Bob? What are you doing up there?! Come down! Help me catch Natsu!"
Gray rolled his eyes. "I'm not risking my life!"
"Bob!"
"Just go catch that idiot before he's off to the mental institute. Don't worry about me. I'll go back home alone."
"Oh. Okay then." Lucy was about to turn her back around, but stopped midway. She glanced upwards to catch Gray's gaze, who was still enjoying the scene at the lower floor. Without waiting for a response, Lucy expressed a small smile before racing after Natsu.
Gray could do nothing more but watch in amusement. It would take some time for her to locate Natsu, considering the size of the manor. But he was sure Lucy would succeed. And sure, Gray was still mad at Natsu, but deep inside, he still cared about him.
"Guess it's time to go back," Gray murmured to himself. But the moment he turned around, he realized that he should've been downstairs with Lucy. Why? Well, guess who Gray met face-to-face with?
"Jellal?" Never in a million years would he would've guessed the bluehead would bump into him. After all, he seemed so interested in the redhead just an hour earlier. Gray's fury returned. No, it wasn't fury. It was jealously.
The bluehead looked just as surprised as Gray, considering the way his eyebrow arched. He stopped in his tracks, just several steps above Gray. To Jellal, it felt weird since it looked like he was the superior, while the dark haired boy was the inferior. Besides, the bluehead wasn't used to being at the top, socially nor economically.
"Um, hi," Jellal said with a friendly smile. When Gray shot a glare at his direction, a horrible thought hit the bluehead. What if HE was the one who passed by Erza's room?
But that thought vanished when he saw Gray smiling back at him. Or maybe it wasn't him after all.
"Oh! You're here!"
Jellal's head craned towards the familiar voice. There stood Erza at the top, radiantly beaming her pleasure yet in a subtle way. Her smile was so mesmerizing and dazzling, it was contagious. But there was a small part that was paining Jellal; the smile wasn't for him.
As for Gray, he was being spoiled with the amount of attention. Erza's endearing eyesmile, her gentle gaze. . .It was so familiar to him. He couldn't help but feel his heart skip a beat. He fought the will to run up to the redhead and allow her to sink into his arms. He missed her so much. So very much. Nevertheless, he stayed calm as he cleared his throat. "Hello." Gray had to force his voice out of his mouth. "How are you doing?"
Erza slowly took her steps downwards. "G-good." She peered towards the side of the railings. "I-I could've sworn that I've heard Lucy's voice j-just a minute ago. Was I dreaming?"
Wanting the attention to remain on him, Gray lied. "Nope, she nor Natsu were here."
The redhead frowned. "I-I'm going paranoid then. Well, I'm just going to go to the k-kitchen to fetch some o-orange juice for refreshments." She pointed to the direction of her designated location. "Would you want some orange juice too, G-gray?"
"Y-yeah," Gray answered, though his mind wasn't focused on the question. He was just going crazy about the way the redhead called his name. She was stuttering, and that made the dark haired boy's heart race even quicker.
Erza nodded in response. "Um, since I-I'm the hostess, I'll go fetch the juice. As for you two, h-how about you'll wait here by the stairs? B-become good friends, m'kay?" Both boys opened their mouths to protest, but she didn't wait for an answer before she turned around and flew towards the kitchen to place her order.
Jellal was the first to speak. "What brings you here today?" He did his best to hide the disappointment in his voice. Now that Gray was here, the redhead's attention on him was shifted over.
Gray casually shrugged. He still held a grudge against the bluehead. "Just visiting."
The bluehead's forehead creased. "How did you even. . ."
"I have my ways."
Jellal rolled his eyes at the ridiculous answer.
Gray frowned. "Then why were you with Eru?"
"Magic," the bluehead smirked.
"Yeah right."
"If you tell me how you got inside the Scarlet manor, I'll tell you why I was with your precious Juliet. Deal?"
The dark haired paused to think. "No deal. I'll eventually figure it out." He sighed exasperatedly. "If the entire school knew that you were a person like this, you'll be secluded in no time."
Jellal shook his head. "Naw, I don't think so. I'm just like this around you. You get on my nerves, you know?"
"You're really annoying," the dark haired boy murmured under his breath.
The bluehead's sharp hearing caught Gray's words. "You don't have to be so worried about Erza. She's safe in my hands. I have no dirty intentions regarding her." He waved both hands in the air to emphasize. "See? It's clean."
Gray clenched his fists, struggling for control of his anger. "Why you arrogant little. . ." Gray stopped when Jellal suddenly ran down the steps. Oh so he finally decides to run away. The dark haired boy whirled around, prepared to mock the bluehead. Instead, he was speechless when he saw Jellal so willingly helping Erza, who was balancing three cups of orange juice on a platter. The cups were filled to the brim and Erza was very careful to not let a single drop be wasted.
"Here, I'll take this," Gray heard Jellal say. He gulped from one cup. "There. Now you don't have to worry about this cup." The bluehead grabbed another cup from the platter and held it in front of Erza's lips. Her brown eyes darted from Jellal, then to the cup. "Sip," he ordered, and she obeyed. Jellal couldn't help but smile at the way Erza shied away after the drink. He returned the cup back to its original spot. "I'll take it from here," Jellal suggested. He moved the platter to his hands. Together, they headed towards the stairs.
When the two passed by Gray, Jellal handed the untouched cup in silence. In response, the dark haired boy shot a glare.
"Gray, cheer up, okay?" Erza, being her observant self, said. "Let's go upstairs to my room," she recommended. She started up the stairs, but turned around when she realized both boys weren't following. "Gray? Jellal?"
The bluehead turned to Erza. "'Kay, Erza." He caught up to the redhead.
"Gray?" Erza called.
The dark haired boy sighed. "Nope, not interested. I'm just passing by. Pretend as if I never came today." He turned around and headed towards the first floor via stairs.
The redhead's eyes widened. Why did Gray want to leave so abruptly? Does he hate me THAT much? What did I ever do? Her forehead creased from worry. "Gray!" she called out. She didn't care if she was screaming his name a little too loudly. She was thinking of chasing after the boy, but Jellal shook his head, signaling this wasn't the time.
Meanwhile, the dark haired boy resisted the urge to return to Erza. He wanted to run back to the redhead and beg for his forgiveness. But he didn't wanted to see his now-enemy, Jellal Fernandes.
Oh, who cares about that stupid Jellal Fernandes?! Gray screamed at himself. Frustrated, he whirled around to call for the redhead. But the moment he turned around, he spotted Jellal and Erza walking up the stairs, happily chatting away. At that second, it felt like his heart was being wrenched as he watched the scene. Erza has already found someone to share her happiness with. Gray fought the forming tears. Jellal had beat him; the bluehead always did. His everything, everything that made him believe in the future and fate, was slowly slipping away.
That was when Gray knew that it was his time to reach for his prized treasure before it vanished. . .forever.
I'm still very guilty and sorry. :( Till next chapter. I will do better, I promise. ~CHS